Sunday, September 03, 2006

Requesting information and experiences

I'm considering getting and Ipod (or a generic version) and using it much like JudyL-to listen to books while sewing and quilting. I've not 'listened' to books before, and I'm not sure if I'll like it or not. Before I invest any money, I think that I'll borrow an audiobook from the local library and give it a try. If I like listening while I sew, then I'll move ahead with the plan. Judy mentioned she belongs to audible.com and gets her things there. Do any of you have experience with either the actual device (Ipod or another brand) or places besides the library to get listening materials? I've looked at Judy's place and it has some good titles, I'm wondering if there are some other places to be checking into. I'd appreciate any thoughts you might be able to share on the subject. Thanks

I listen to audio books all the time while I am stitching. My library has inter-library loan and I can request the titles I want online. When they arrive the library calls me. I am using an inexpensive CD player. Minimal investment - Maximum return.

I bought an iPod for work and enjoy it for fun, as well. I use it while out walking or while traveling on planes and trains. I also subscribe to Audible and have been very happy with the service and selection (it's much more cost efficient to have a monthly or yearly membership than to purchase things individually). I can't get audiobooks from the local library, but I would try that out first. I don't use the iPod while quilting, though - I might hear better over the machine, but I just get tangled up. I have started to listen to ebooks with my laptop while sewing and have really enjoyed it.

Hi Gail, I get my books "on" from the public library, for the most part. Even in my rural area, hundreds are avilable.I don't care to "wear" anything while listening, so I just get books on CDs, and pop them in my portable CD player. I can hit pause if I need to.You can fas forward if you've had to stop before the end of the CD, and I'm free to move around the room.Not sure that helps or not, but thats what I do. I listened to Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince on CD. It was 13 disks worth. I would have hated to have to download that to an ipod.

i don't have an Ipod but i have tried listening to audio books but i found i couldn't concentrate on the story as well as stitching. I have a MP3 player and listen to music on that while i am down in the sewing room.

I don't have any experience with audio books but have also been considering it. Love my Ipod but I usually listen to music - my concern would be whether I could concentrate enough to follow the story while I was concentrating on quilting. If you try it - let me know how it works for you.

Check out http://www.thoughtaudio.com They're free and they have a lot of classics . . just a few books but I've downloaded a bunch from there. I hate that they're in so many parts but I suppose that's to make it quicker for people on dial up.

Our library has some cooperative setup where I can go online via our library (sign in with my password) and then it goes to some national type library and there are books to download there for free. Again, not a ton of books but some.

Like Mary said, I sometimes lose track of what I'm listening to or find myself stopped doing nothing while listening at the real interesting spots. I've even been known to fall asleep at night with my Ipod going.

Gail, I'm totally hooked on audio books. I get all of mine from the library -- easy and FREE! We can reserve them online. I especially like to listen to books I may have read a few years back and enjoyed. That way if my sewing machine is whirring a little loudly I don't miss much, but I usually don't remember enough about the original to spoil it for myself. Have fun!!